Joseph Duggar released on $600,000 bond after pleading not guilty to molestation charges
Joseph Duggar was released from jail after pleading not guilty to charges of molesting a 9-year-old girl.
According to the Bay County Jail website, Duggar was no longer listed as an inmate at the Florida jail as of Tuesday afternoon.
The former reality TV’s attorney, Albert Sauline, told AP that his client was released on $600,000 bond hours after appearing in front of a judge and had flown home to Arkansas.
Court documents obtained by the outlet reveal that Judge Brantley Clark barred Duggar, 31, from having unsupervised contact with any person under 18.
Sauline said his “number one goal” was “to make sure [Duggar] is treated fairly” due to his celebrity status.
Duggar was arrested in Arkansas earlier this month and was transferred to the Bay County Jail in Panama City, Florida.
He was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving a victim younger than the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 or older, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement March 18.
The Bay County police said they were contacted by the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas and made aware of a past sexual abuse incident involving a now-14-year-old.
The victim told officers in a forensic interview that she was 9 years old in 2020 when she was allegedly involved in several incidents with Duggar during a family getaway in Panama City Beach.
She claimed the “19 Kids and Counting” alum asked her to sit on his lap multiple times and allegedly touched her genitals while under a blanket when they sat on a couch together.
The victim also recalled Duggar allegedly touching her thighs.
According to an affidavit, Duggar allegedly admitted to the victim’s father that he molested the minor in 2020.
Duggar was three years into his marriage with Kendra Caldwell at the time of the alleged crime.
The mom of three, 27, was arrested on March 20. Caldwell and her husband were charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment, reportedly over rooms with locks on the outside of the doorknob.
Caldwell and Duggar share three kids together: Garrett, Addison and Brooklyn.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.